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Hydrogen in the Energy-X-Nexus
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Hydrogen in the Energy-X-Nexus

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A5: Hydrogen Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 8089

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Ben Mclellan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606–8317, Japan
Interests: resources; sustainable development; energy; hydrogen economy; critical raw materials; just transitions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There has been extensive renewed interest in hydrogen energy technologies over the past few years. While it is yet to be seen whether this interest translates to clear technological transition and commercialisation on a large scale, the potential for a broader hydrogen economy offers an interesting lens through which the interaction between energy and other important socio-technological systems, i.e., the “Energy-X-Nexus”, can be carefully considered.

For example, at the energy–water nexus, hydrogen could help to provide fresh water as an output of its usage, or in the co-production of water for hydrogen production and drinking water. At the energy–minerals nexus, hydrogen technologies require a variety of metals and minerals, such platinum in fuel cells, while hydrogen could be utilised to reduce steel in carbon mitigation or to power equipment on mine sites.

This Special Issue seeks to explore the role, opportunities, and challenges for hydrogen to act as a focal technology chain that could help to facilitate sustainable transitions across multiple interconnected energy–X systems.  Case studies of example technologies, including methodologies and models which consider and evaluate energy–X nexus systems, particularly using quantitative approaches, are highly welcome.

Prof. Dr. Ben Mclellan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • energy–X nexus
  • hydrogen energy
  • hydrogen economy
  • nexus studies
  • water–energy
  • minerals–energy
  • resources–energy
  • land–energy
  • waste–energy

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 5347 KiB  
Article
Comparative Technical and Economic Analyses of Hydrogen-Based Steel and Power Sectors
by Khusniddin Alikulov, Zarif Aminov, La Hoang Anh, Tran Dang Xuan and Wookyung Kim
Energies 2024, 17(5), 1242; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17051242 - 5 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1510
Abstract
Decarbonizing the current steel and power sectors through the development of the hydrogen direct-reduction iron ore–electric arc furnace route and the 100% hydrogen-fired gas turbine cycle is crucial. The current study focuses on three clusters of research works. The first cluster covers the [...] Read more.
Decarbonizing the current steel and power sectors through the development of the hydrogen direct-reduction iron ore–electric arc furnace route and the 100% hydrogen-fired gas turbine cycle is crucial. The current study focuses on three clusters of research works. The first cluster covers the investigation of the mass and energy balance of the route and the subsequent application of these values in experiments to optimize the reduction yield of iron ore. In the second cluster, the existing gas turbine unit was selected for the complete replacement of natural gas with hydrogen and for finding the most optimal mass and energy balance in the cycle through an Aspen HYSYS model. In addition, the chemical kinetics in the hydrogen combustion process were simulated using Ansys Chemkin Pro to research the emissions. In the last cluster, a comparative economic analysis was conducted to identify the levelized cost of production of the route and the levelized cost of electricity of the cycle. The findings in the economic analysis provided good insight into the details of the capital and operational expenditures of each industrial sector in understanding the impact of each kg of hydrogen consumed in the plants. These findings provide a good basis for future research on reducing the cost of hydrogen-based steel and power sectors. Moreover, the outcomes of this study can also assist ongoing, large-scale hydrogen and ammonia projects in Uzbekistan in terms of designing novel hydrogen-based industries with cost-effective solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogen in the Energy-X-Nexus)
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34 pages, 2546 KiB  
Article
Potential Domestic Energy System Vulnerabilities from Major Exports of Green Hydrogen: A Case Study of Australia
by Andrew J. Curtis and Benjamin C. McLellan
Energies 2023, 16(16), 5881; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16165881 - 8 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2515
Abstract
Australia has clear aspirations to become a major global exporter of hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels and as part of the drive to reduce CO2 emissions, as set out in the National Hydrogen Strategy released in 2019 jointly by the [...] Read more.
Australia has clear aspirations to become a major global exporter of hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels and as part of the drive to reduce CO2 emissions, as set out in the National Hydrogen Strategy released in 2019 jointly by the federal and state governments. In 2021, the Australian Energy Market Operator specified a grid forecast scenario for the first time entitled “hydrogen superpower”. Not only does Australia hope to capitalise on the emerging demand for zero-carbon hydrogen in places like Japan and South Korea by establishing a new export industry, but it also needs to mitigate the built-in carbon risk of its export revenue from coal and LNG as major customers, such as Japan and South Korea, move to decarbonise their energy systems. This places hydrogen at the nexus of energy, climate change mitigation and economic growth, with implications for energy security. Much of the published literature on this topic concentrates on the details of what being a major hydrogen exporter will look like and what steps will need to be taken to achieve it. However, there appears to be a gap in the study of the implications for Australia’s domestic energy system in terms of energy security and export economic vulnerability. The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for the implications of becoming a major hydrogen exporter on Australia’s energy system. Various green hydrogen export scenarios for Australia were compared, and the most recent and comprehensive was selected as the basis for further examination for domestic energy system impacts. In this scenario, 248.5 GW of new renewable electricity generation capacity was estimated to be required by 2050 to produce the additional 867 TWh required for an electrolyser output of 2088 PJ of green hydrogen for export, which will comprise 55.9% of Australia’s total electricity demand at that time. The characteristics of comparative export-oriented resources and their interactions with the domestic economy and energy system are then examined through the lens of the resource curse hypothesis, and the LNG and aluminium industries. These existing resource export frameworks are reviewed for applicability of specific factors to export-oriented green hydrogen production, with applicable factors then compiled into a novel conceptual framework for exporter domestic implications from large-scale exports of green hydrogen. The green hydrogen export superpower (2050) scenario is then quantitatively assessed using the established indicators for energy exporter vulnerability and domestic energy security, comparing it to Australia’s 2019 energy exports profile. This assessment finds that in almost all factors, exporter vulnerability is reduced, and domestic energy security is enhanced by the transition from fossil fuel exports to green hydrogen, with the exception of an increase in exposure of the domestic energy system to international market forces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogen in the Energy-X-Nexus)
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33 pages, 2292 KiB  
Article
Techno-Economic Evaluation of Hydrogen-Based Cooking Solutions in Remote African Communities—The Case of Kenya
by Nikolas Schöne, Raluca Dumitrescu and Boris Heinz
Energies 2023, 16(7), 3242; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073242 - 4 Apr 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3335
Abstract
Hydrogen has recently been proposed as a versatile energy carrier to contribute to archiving universal access to clean cooking. In hard-to-reach rural settings, decentralized produced hydrogen may be utilized (i) as a clean fuel via direct combustion in pure gaseous form or blended [...] Read more.
Hydrogen has recently been proposed as a versatile energy carrier to contribute to archiving universal access to clean cooking. In hard-to-reach rural settings, decentralized produced hydrogen may be utilized (i) as a clean fuel via direct combustion in pure gaseous form or blended with Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), or (ii) via power-to-hydrogen-to-power (P2H2P) to serve electric cooking (e-cooking) appliances. Here, we present the first techno-economic evaluation of hydrogen-based cooking solutions. We apply mathematical optimization via energy system modeling to assess the minimal cost configuration of each respective energy system on technical and economic measures under present and future parameters. We further compare the potential costs of cooking for the end user with the costs of cooking with traditional fuels. Today, P2H2P-based e-cooking and production of hydrogen for utilization via combustion integrated into the electricity supply system have almost equal energy system costs to simultaneously satisfy the cooking and electricity needs of the isolated rural Kenyan village studied. P2H2P-based e-cooking might become advantageous in the near future when improving the energy efficiency of e-cooking appliances. The economic efficiency of producing hydrogen for utilization by end users via combustion benefits from integrating the water electrolysis into the electricity supply system. More efficient and cheaper hydrogen technologies expected by 2050 may improve the economic performance of integrated hydrogen production and utilization via combustion to be competitive with P2H2P-based e-cooking. The monthly costs of cooking per household may be lower than the traditional use of firewood and charcoal even today when applying the current life-line tariff for the electricity consumed or utilizing hydrogen via combustion. Driven by likely future technological improvements and the expected increase in traditional and fossil fuel prices, any hydrogen-based cooking pathway may be cheaper for end users than using charcoal and firewood by 2030, and LPG by 2040. The results suggest that providing clean cooking in rural villages could economically and environmentally benefit from utilizing hydrogen. However, facing the complexity of clean cooking projects, we emphasize the importance of embedding the results of our techno-economic analysis in holistic energy delivery models. We propose useful starting points for future aspects to be investigated in the discussion section, including business and financing models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogen in the Energy-X-Nexus)
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